launched a campaign to bring professional soccer to our city, their work has paid off. Beginning in 2026, Denver will be the location for the next National Women’s Soccer League franchise.
The team does not even have a name yet, and they are taking season ticket pledges. I snapped up two as soon as I saw the announcement.
There is a very good chance it ends up being the best bang-for-your-buck option in Colorado. While NWSL ticket prices have surged — and are inexplicably a multiple of superior European clubs like five-time defending English champions Chelsea — they remain far more accessible than most American sports.
With per seat pledges going for $30.30 for general seating and $100 for premium seating, the full price is not likely to approach the cost for Avalanche, Nuggets or Broncos tickets. And I certainly will not be paying as much to watch women’s soccer as I will to watch the Rockies lose another 100 games at Dodger Stadium East.
Some naysayers will claim the cost is representative of the product on the pitch. That is not just sexism, but demonstrably wrong. Women’s matches have plenty of skill and pace and power. That is before we get into heart-pounding finishes.
Just last weekend I woke up at 5 a.m. to drive through frigid temperatures and watch a top-of the table clash between Chelsea and Arsenal. In an end-to-end match, Chelsea took 21 shots to Arsenal’s 10. The match was not won until late substitution Lauren James drew a penalty in the 84th minute.
Watching similarly skilled players live — and at a far more reasonable hour — in my hometown will be fantastic.
While a permanent location for the team has not been located yet, Denver Mayor Mike Johnston said it would be within the bounds of the city and “accessible to neighborhoods where folks can walk and bike.” That would be a boon to the new club.
As I wrote just over a year ago, true soccer culture feeds on an atmosphere created in and around a stadium located surrounded by homes and eateries and bars, not parking lots. That is why I still believe swapping the lots of land used by the Broncos and Rapids makes a lot of sense.
If the new women’s team proves my point, it might spur change.
For those who do not venture out, there are sure to be a host of options for watching indoors. Obviously my home away from home, the British Bulldog, will broadcast any matches they can (and will likely appreciate not having to open in frigid, early morning hours as they did for that Chelsea-Arsenal banger). The Number Thirty Eight brewery, which has been the preferred destination for folks associated with the For Denver FC group pivotal to acquiring the new franchise, should be another hotspot. Hopefully The 99ers Sports Bar — dedicated to women’s sports — will roll out the red carpet as well.
Regardless, the excitement can begin.
Soon enough we will be watching the Colorado TBD soccer club selecting their first set of players in the draft. Maybe a Colorado legend or two (Lindsay Horan anyone?) returns from Europe to give them an instant jolt.
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3:03 AM MST on Jan 27, 202511:44 AM MST on Jan 25, 2025As names and colors and logos all get trotted out, the build-up to the first kickoff will be fun for anyone involved. It should also be inspirational. While boys in the Denver Metro area have always had an Elway, Sakic, Helton, or Jokic to emulate, girls will now have their own heroines to watch from the edge of their seats.
That is a net positive for Denver by itself.
If the new ownership group is savvy, it will be a benefit to them as well. After paying a record $110 million entrance fee, twice as much as teams paid two years ago and more than 50 times coughed up for new entries from 2020-22, they obviously see the potential investment return. While a nine-figure fee, before accounting for stadium costs and player purchases or salaries, seems staggering, on a relative basis it might turn out to be a bargain.
With interest in women’s sports skyrocketing, valuations are expected to grow by billions in the near term. Long term the return could be tremendous.
Much of that will depend on securing a passionate supporter base. Hopefully ownership will not make the same mistake the Rockies and Rapids have by catering to casual fans to the detriment of the loud, engaged supporter sections. They are the ones who create an atmosphere that makes it exciting.
Possibilities abound. And in a few years the first ball will be kicked and Denver will have taken a major step forward in the world of women’s sports.
Mario Nicolais is an attorney and columnist who writes on law enforcement, the legal system, health care and public policy. Follow him on Bluesky: @MarioNicolais.bsky.social.
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